The Canadian government announced on Thursday that it plans to pull the penny from circulation at the end of 2012, saying the copper-coated currency is more expensive for the Royal Canadian Mint to produce than its actual currency value.

"Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home. They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs," said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He also said it costs 1.5 cents to produce each penny.

"We will, therefore, stop making them," he said.

Nonetheless, the news has been causing quite a stir across Twitter today.

The U.S. faces a similar dilemma, where it costs nearly two cents to produce a single penny. U.S. pennies are in fact composed primarily of zinc, and have a thin copper coating. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Obama Administration has proposed using less expensive materials in the production of pennies and nickels, but public misinformation on the perceived value of coins would likely stir up controversy.

It could also be disastrous news for at least one Portland, Oregon, nightclub.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama discussed phasing out the penny, saying, "We have been trying to eliminate the penny for quite some time—it always comes back. I need to find out who is lobbying to keep the penny." However, Obama said that fellow presidential Illinois native Abraham Lincoln shouldn't be phased out from our currency. "Oh, you think it's Illinois? You're blaming us?" he joked. "I will seriously consider eliminating the penny as long as we find another place for Lincoln to land." Lincoln, of course, already graces the front of the $5 bill.

The Canadian penny will still be accepted indefinitely as a form of currency, but the government says it will eventually require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five-cent increment. Customers are already forbidden from using more than 25 pennies in a single purchase.

"The penny has simply outlived its purpose," said Senator Irving Gerstein. "It is a piece of currency, quite frankly, that lacks currency."

The Associated Press notes that some countries have already eliminated pennies or their monetary equivalent from circulation, including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Israel, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland and Brazil.

A Virginia teacher has been charged with 12 felony counts after allegedly pulling a blank firing gun on his students and firing several times.

"One for each student who was in there. And basically the charges result of inciting fear into the students," Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman told KSDK.com.

The incident occurred just days after the five-year-anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, during which 32 people were shot by a mentally ill student.

The Kingsport Times reports that Manuael Ernest Dillow, 60, was teaching a welding glass at an Abingdon, Virginia, vocational school when he reportedly "gathered" the attention of his students by forcing them to line up.

"He then pulled a 'blank firing handgun,' black in color, from the back waistband of his pants and discharged the weapon between four and ten shots in the direction of the line of the students," according to a police statement. "The 'report' of the firearm was similar to that of a firearm that fires a projectile, thus placing the students in fear, according to statements. No students were physically injured as a result of the incident."

Sheriff Newman said Dillow apparently borrowed the gun, which is not capable of shooting actual bullets, from another school department.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office says the charges levied against Dillow are all class 6 felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. Dillow has since been released on a $20,000 bond.

The police department has not yet said why Dillow allegedly fired the blanks at the students, but he has been removed from his teaching position while the investigation continues.